## **ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2024** **Reports relating to the main themes of Worship, Community, Mission and Finance** ## **Structure, Governance and Management of the Church** Castle Hill Baptist Church is a registered charity set up under Trust Deed and governed by the Deed and its Constitution. We are an unincorporated association. The principal Purpose of Castle Hill Baptist Church (the Church) is the advancement of the Christian faith according to the principles of the Baptist denomination. The Church may also advance education and carry out other charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and/or other parts of the world. The governance of the Church is on Baptist principles and centred on the Church Members’ Meeting. This Members’ meeting usually occurs monthly and has responsibility for the overall policy of the Church. All Members of the Church are encouraged to attend Members’ Meetings where relevant matters that are new, or involve a significant change to processes agreed, are presented for discussion and decision. Though the Constitution permits decisions to be made by appropriate majorities, the Church seeks to work by consensus wherever possible. In accordance with the Constitution, at a Special Church Members’ Meeting in November, the Members appoint the Church Secretary and Treasurer (on an annual basis) and deacons (on three-year terms), to partner with the Minister (also appointed by the Members), to oversee the day to day running of the Church’s work and witness, and the financial and legal aspects of the charity. These offices all comprise the Trustees of the Church and new trustees begin their role in the new year. The Trustees normally meet eleven times a year. Training for Trustees is provided by the Heart of England Baptist Association and the Baptist Union. An Annual General Meeting is held in March to present the accounts and reports to Members. Notwithstanding the appointment of persons to accept responsibility for any of the activities, all individuals, organisations, groups and committees operating within the life of the Church and their leaders shall be accountable to the Charity Trustees and also through any specific direction of the Church Members’ Meeting. As of 31st December 2024, there were 73 Members on the Church Membership register. ## **Objectives and Activities** To achieve the principle Purpose, set out above, the Church offers a variety of activities both to its membership and the local community. These activities are run either on its own or with others, and will vary from time to time in response to needs. The activities include, but are not restricted to: - regular public worship and prayer; Bible study, preaching and teaching; - baptism, as defined in the Baptist Union's Declaration of Principle; - the communion of the Lord's Supper, being observed at least once a month; - evangelism and mission—locally, regionally, nationally and internationally; - the teaching, encouragement, welcome and inclusion of young people; - nurture and growth of Christian disciples; - education and training for Christian and community service; - giving and encouraging pastoral care; - supporting and encouraging charitable and social action in the United Kingdom and abroad; - encouraging relationships with and supporting Baptists and other Christians; - working with other Christians and Christian bodies to provide charitable and social action in the community. The Church seeks to be a friendly and welcoming community, to which anyone is free to attend. The public benefit is fulfilled by enabling ordinary people to live out their faith as part of the Church and wider community, to show the love of Jesus Christ in both word and deed, and bring people into a closer relationship with Him as their living Lord. **1** _Annual Reports 2024_ Central to the work and witness of the Church is the provision of regular public times of Christian worship. These take place each Sunday at 10.30am in person and online, putting faith into practice through prayer, scripture, teaching, music and sacrament. Other special services are offered around Easter and Christmas and are advertised through our website (warwickbaptists.org.uk), general leaflets and posters. There is a full children’s and youth programme offered each Sunday, except the first of the month when we gather together for all-age worship. Aside from public worship, various other activities are offered to the public and membership, led by Members and approved people, including a series of house groups to support discipleship; visits to Coten End Primary School to support their learning about Christianity; running our own Gateway Cafe and Baby Basics centre; hosting a variety of groups for older people, particularly aimed at those who now live alone; and running a social group for young people. More detail about our wide range of activities is set out later in this report. The Church operates systems to ensure that all people working with children and vulnerable adults are appropriately vetted by the Disclosure and Barring Service and given appropriate regular training. The Trustees have read the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and, in particular, the specific guidance to charities which are for the advancement of religion, and is satisfied that the activities outlined within clearly demonstrate that the charity is providing a benefit to the public. ## **Affiliation and Relationships** The Church is a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (Baptists Together), the Heart of England Baptist Association (HEBA) and Churches Together in Warwick (CTW). It is also a Fairtrade Church and in 2021 set up a ‘Green and Fair’ group, following the A Rochá Eco Church guidance, to help us consider our creation care responsibilities. We currently hold a bronze award (2023) and seek to make changes to move towards a silver. The Church will normally promote, encourage, support and enhance the work of the Baptist Union, the Association and BMS World Mission through prayer, financial contributions and, where appropriate, by making personnel available from the Membership of the Church. When it is able, the Church will also support local Baptist and ecumenical gatherings. ## **Achievements and Performance** ## **Trustees/Diaconate Report** This year, we were delighted to celebrate the baptism of one of our young people as well as welcome two new people into formal membership but two members also died. Following a review of our membership role, three people resigned, three were removed by agreement and one transferred to their new church family. Whilst this means our membership is down from 80 to 73, it is also a more realistic reflection of those active here at Castle Hill. Alongside this we have seen the number of people joining our Sunday congregation increase, as well as those attending our Connect groups during the week. We’ve been heartened by the feedback we’ve received, with the main reason for people returning and ultimately settling being because of the warm welcome they’ve received. Pastorally, we continue to support one another through our Connect and House Groups. Our Pastor and some of our Members take an active lead in this area, supporting people attending appointments, providing meals, practical helps, visiting those in hospital and generally offering prayer support in the challenges life presents. Four members of our worshipping community have died and two others were linked with our Connect groups. It has been a privilege to walk these families in their pain through both pastoral support and for some also leading and hosting the funeral and services of thanksgiving. **2** _Annual Reports 2024_ Whilst numbers are one way to help us see what has been going on, we remember that the Church does not measure the success of its activities _only_ in numbers (including financial numbers) but also in less tangible areas like fellowship and encouragement. The Trustees recognise that these are difficult to measure but believe that 2024 was a positive year in the life of the Church. For example, we continue to be amazed at the variety of nationalities the Lord is gathering amongst us—nearly 17 at the last count including some asylum seekers. This diversity presents us with both a challenge and opportunity in how we learn from one another and celebrate each other’s cultures. One way we have done this is by holding a _Taste the Nations_ food festival where we welcome contributions from those both in and out of our regular worshipping community. As food seems a good way to develop community, we also continue to run termly meals welcoming the extended family and friends of those who regularly worship with us. _Meet ’n’ Eat_ on Fridays, run by a committed group of Members, successfully offers a safe space for a regular group of older people from the community to gather together and find friendship. Our ever popular _Stir Up Sunday_ event also offers the opportunity to spend time together whilst making Christmas puddings! We have also been blessed by gathering around food during worship, at the _Agape Meal_ (Maundy Thursday) and _Advent Supper_ (at the end of November). We are so grateful to all those who organise these events and make a space both for the local community and members of our Church to gather together. ## Prayer Prayer remains at the heart of the worshipping life of the Church. Alongside our regular days of prayer for BMS World Mission and the Persecuted Church, monthly times of prayer and fasting, and joining in the _Thy Kingdom Come_ initiative, this year we used Lent to invite people to _Pause and Pray_ , offering an intentional time to grow in their relationship with the Lord. This was accompanied by a book club which invited people to read together slowly through _The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry_ (J. M. Comer) and discuss what we might learn to help us in our walk with the Lord. Near the end of the year we also introduced a new worship space called _Dwell_ —a time to rest in God’s presence and listen for his voice. All these activities have been positively received. During this year our co-ordinator stepped down from our e-prayer network after many years of service; we’re so thankful for the way the Lord has blessed us through her service in this important ministry. ## Reaching Out Another priority for us is our young people, and by extension, our children’s work. We continue to work closely with Thrive Youth Ministries on the Manifesto Project, seeking to develop youth work fit for the 21st century. We’ve been amazed at the ways God has led us to connect with so many new young people through initiatives like the youth games evening, the _Golden Ticket Reunion_ and the launching of _Catalyst_ youth club. We’ve enjoyed celebrating some of our young people going away to a Christian residential called _Base Camp_ , as well as some of our children taking part in a local worship time called _Thrive Juniors._ Our Pastor continued to develop his connections with Coten End Primary School, both through his visiting for assemblies and class lessons as well as welcoming their Year 6 to the church building for interactive Christmas, Easter and summer CrossTeach _Experiences_ . On Remembrance Sunday he led a poignant service of worship for the Warwick 7th Scout Group before their parade in town. We were also encouraged by our ever popular Light Party which continued to welcome new families from the local community who might not be Christian but didn’t want to celebrate Halloween. At the end of the year, one of the leaders announced her decision to step down from her part in youth work. She has been a very influential and active figure in this area and we are so grateful to the Lord for all He has done through her over these last many years. As we look to grow as ‘A beacon of hope in Warwick and beyond’, we’ve continued to encourage our fellowship to look outward. Baby Basics continues to do an amazing work providing help for new mums in need, welcoming donations from the local community and developing positive links with professionals in Warwick District. We held a litter pick morning as part of the national Big Help Out day and some of our members raised money for Christian Aid through a cake and plant sale. We opened our cafe to take **3** _Annual Reports 2024_ part in the Smith Street Fair and our CAMEO group ran a well-attended ‘Holiday at Home’ for those who could not get away. More money was raised through a quiz for Tearfund and over 60 shoeboxes were filled as gifts to go to families in a poor part of Romania via Amen Trust. Sadly, our Gateway community café closed its doors at the end of May after a change in personal circumstances for its volunteer manage. We’re so grateful to our manager, the Gateway committee and all who have given of their time and resources over the many many years this space has been open serving our local community. We await to see what the Lord has next for this resource. ## Operational As Trustees, we were delighted to reappoint Kathy Hewitt, David Ho and Richard Molloy to the team as deacons from January 2024 alongside John Levick as Treasurer. Sadly, we had no nominations for Church Secretary and this led to the deacons distributing the role’s responsibilities to support the Pastor whilst we proceeded with advertising for a paid Operations Manager. However, in November we were encouraged to receive the nomination of three new names to join the leadership team, including one who was also willing to shadow the Treasurer and learn the role. Following this David Ho resigned his position to allow his name to go forward for Church Secretary in a bi-election and was elected in January 2025. We continue to pray about how best to structure the administrative side of the Church to provide a solid foundation going into the future. Whilst lots of matters have been discussed by the Trustees, our main focus has been on preparing to become a CIO, adopting a new Trust Deed for the Castle Hill site, developing an ethos statement to help advertise for an Operations Manager, and collating Members’ views and a Church response to the BUGB consultation around the ministerial recognition rules. In April, the Members agreed to a termly rolling license with Warwick Family Connect for the use of our hall three days a week, and we continue to develop our relationship with Warwick Words History Festival in their use of our main building for various events, including a whole week in October. Property wise, alongside the general maintenance and annual safety checks, the property team has replaced the rotten front windows and door at the Manse with UPVC units and continued to wrestle with issues with the boilers at Gerrard Street hall. In July, the Smith Street flat became vacant for the first time in many decades and the team has spent time seeking advice on the options before us as its state of repair is not good. Much of this work goes on quietly in the background — but we want to give thanks to the Lord for providing the right people, at just the right time, with the right gifts and skills to help us through the challenges we’ve faced this year. As we look forward to 2025, we will continue to seek the Lord’s leading for the use of our buildings to bless the local community and we seek to form a strategy for what we do next with our Smith Street flat. We will build on the foundations laid down for the development of our youth work, review our wider giving, and seek to finalise our transition to become a CIO. Finally, we want to give thanks and praise to God for his continued provision to his Church through His people, their skills and financial giving. There is so much that happens week on week, both seen and unseen, and we are so blessed by the generosity of His people to invest in His kingdom in Warwick and beyond. May God continue to use us for His glory as a beacon of hope. ## **Membership summary** |**Year**|**Members**|**Baptisms**|**Notes**| |---|---|---|---| |2024|73|1|Review of membership| |2023|80|1|1 dedication| |2022|78|0|1 dedication| |2021|77|0|Covid,significant review of membership| |2020|89|0|Covid| |2019|88|2|| **4** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## **Reports relating to WORSHIP** ## **Sunday Worship** Whilst a variety of different acts of worship happen throughout each week, month and year, Sunday continues to be at the heart of when we gather to be fed, recharged and sent back out for the week ahead. To that end, we also ensure those who are unable to get into the building have an opportunity to still connect via Zoom (with recordings uploaded later to YouTube). So much happens to enable Sunday worship—with over 65 people serving across welcome, duty deacon, refreshments, communion, vision and sound, music, leading and preaching, prayer ministry and children’s and youth work— to every person who serves as ‘part of the body’ on this day, we thank Jesus for your gifts and willingness to offer them back in service to Him. This year we enjoyed a selection of visiting preachers and leaders, including Rev’d Ken Benjamin (London Institute for Contemporary Christianity), Darren Mitchell (Warwickshire Central CAP Centre) and former Minister Ian Furlong. Alongside this we have very much appreciated the many contributions from our own fellowship. ## **Children’s and Youth Work** We continue to have many children and young people as part of our church family. We know that offering children’s and youth ministry on a Sunday is very important to parents, helping both nurture their Christian faith as well as meeting with others of their age from Christian homes. ## **Children’s Work** Children’s ministry operates on Sundays during the morning service (except in August and the first Sunday of the month when we celebrate with an all age worship). We offer two groups to cover this age range: Groundbreakers and XStream. During 2024, the team of leaders and helpers for the children’s work expanded to 15 adults. Of these eight are willing to lead and six are happy to serve on either team. This has proved very helpful as although the number of volunteers is good there are occasions when absences coincide which can make filling the rota more difficult. A ’taster’ session was held in June for the four children moving from Groundbreakers to XStream and the three moving from Xstream to AYP. We were thrilled to see how well these children integrated into their new groups in September. In December we had a Christmas party with singing, games and crafts, followed by a lunch for the children, their families and helpers. Additionally, in April, we had a great time taking 11 of our children to a Thrive Juniors event supported by three adults and one young leader. The afternoon started off with some fun dancing and wonderful praise and worship with action songs. The children enjoyed a puppet show and a drama, all led by Thrive’s Young Leaders—this was inspiring to see! The theme was ‘Running the Race with Jesus and fixing our eyes on Him’. ## - Groundbreakers (Age 2 1⁄2 Yr 1) The year began with eight children, aged 3 to 6, most being regular attendees. The boys brought a certain energy to the group until two of them transferred to XStream in September. Numbers in this age group have reduced and we were pleased to welcome a new family with two children in the autumn. During the year the children learnt about the lives of Jacob, Joshua, King David, Solomon, Nehemiah, Ezra and Jeremiah. as well as seasonal sessions for Easter and Christmas. We have continued to use the Scripture Union _Bubbles_ resources and tried to ensure a balance between bible story, prayer, **5** _Annual Reports 2024_ singing, activities and free play (inside or outside, depending on the weather). The children have enjoyed each other’s company and most are happy to take part in all activities. ## - XStream (Years 2 6) During the year there have been 18 children on the register with attendance varying between 7–14 children. The group has looked at how we can live our Christian lives in the challenging environment of school; a series entitled “Experiencing God in the Psalms”; people who encountered Jesus, events in the Easter story and the birth of the church. Sessions are planned using resources from the _Energize_ website and frequently include games, videos and worship songs as well as craft activities. The children show increasing confidence in praying spontaneously and the older children are wonderful at supporting the younger ones. The age range is quite significant and so it’s good to see the older ones taking the lead and encouraging the younger ones in a variety of ways, including praying aloud. ## **Youth Work (Sarah Poole)** Our group met regularly every Sunday throughout the year (except the first Sunday of the month when it’s an All-Age Service), and glory to the Lord, one young person got baptised! The AYP team initially grew with two additional helpers alongside the three leaders, but by the end of the year two team members had needed to step down. Over the year the young people were led in structured discussions, bible readings, prayers as well as inviting members of the church to give their testimonies to the group and answer questions. We also organised social events like a Christmas party and film night; these were all thoroughly enjoyed. ## **Prayer Ministry** ## **Prayer Team (Kevin Johnson)** This year we have sought to encourage people in their prayer life by challenging them to commit to praying for three people every day to come to faith. We have also been praying as a church for connection with 50 young people we currently do not have any contact with. Over the year, the Lord has blessed us with exceeding our expectations, and we estimate our connection with non-church young people was actually nearer 100! Praise the Lord! In contrast, whilst we didn’t hear stories of friends or family coming to faith, we did hear comments about people being encouraged to know they weren’t praying on their own — that we were praying for one another’s ‘three’ as well. Over Lent, Kevin invited the church to intentionally Pause and Pray each Tuesday. The idea of ‘being given permission’ to slow down and spend time with God seems to be the positive here. People reported being encouraged by just spending time with God — not listing their needs — just resting in his presence. On Good Friday, we reintroduced our reflective service to compliment the gathered service led by all the Warwick churches in the Market Place. Our regular Thursday prayer times have continued with a few new members joining. Up to 12 of us gather now (on a good day), both in person and online, to pray for our local area, one another and the world. As we headed towards Pentecost, we joined in with the global _Thy Kingdom Come_ initiative, this year adding both a youth space and some reflective stations. These were well received and at least two people reported meeting closely with Jesus and sensing a significant transformation from that moment in their lives. In building on the sense that we need to spend more time in God’s presence listening and not just talking, in the autumn we introduced a new afternoon worship space called _Dwell._ Running every other **6** _Annual Reports 2024_ month, this has been well received and also offers those who find our morning service too early to be able to attend or too noisy a quieter space to meet with others and the Lord. We will look to continue this into next year and see how the Lord shapes this time. ## **Prayer Link** We had approximately 340 prayer requests/updates during 2024, giving an average of 28 per month and believe that our Father not only heard and answered but also anticipated and cherished each one. Hundreds of people were prayed for during the year, from direct requests within our church—for themselves, their families and friends, the community, nationally and internationally too. We will one day get to know the impact of these. The prayer link currently has 54 active members who receive the prayer requests by email and agree to pray as soon as possible. All requests are confidential and nothing is too small or too big, no prayer too simple nor too complicated. Prayer requests are made through our website by any member of the public, by using our prayer cards at any of our groups/events, or by emailing a prayer request. ## **Churches Together in Warwick** CTW continues to be active within the community, including hosting monthly prayer breakfasts (averaging 20 worshipers), four evangelistic concerts entitled _The Big Local Night Out_ , and a week of prayer for Christian Unity (January). At Easter, we held a Walk of Witness which was well attended by around 200 people in Warwick Market Place. Many positive conversations about Jesus were had and we know of at least one person who chose to follow Jesus! One of our members continues to faithfully serve as the CTW Secretary and rep for CHBC. ## **Deeper** We had the privilege of welcoming Rev Ken Benjamin and the team from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity in April. Following a different format, Ken spoke on the Sunday morning about whole-life discipleship before leading an evening on the topic _If Jesus Lived Your Life…_ His talks, exploring the Psalm 33 and Matthew 28, helped us to consider how our ‘theology of whole-life flows directly from a God of all life.’ On the following Tuesday we welcomed the wider LICC team as they led their Vision Tour as they used stories, research, videos, online voting, and interviews to capture the essence of LICC’s mission, and explain how they could help us and our church seek to be authentic disciples of Jesus, right where we are. Feedback from this event was generally positive, though the second night was very different from a ‘normal’ Deeper evening format. **7** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## **Thrive Manifesto Project** Thrive Youth Ministries is a local organisation which supports churches to ‘deliver youth work fit for the 21st century’. Their manifesto seeks to help churches become more fruitful in reaching out to young people both within the church fellowship and in the wider community. Our ‘Thrive Manifesto Group’ (TMG) has been meeting monthly since February 2023. This group seeks to help the church strengthen and develop its current youth ministry as well as see new opportunities to connect with young people. More can be found about this project here: https://www.thriveym.org.uk/our-work-with/serving-the-church/manifesto/ In June, the TMG organised a **social** event for Castle Hill young people to invite their friends to. Technical problems meant we could not meet on the Thrive Youth Bus as intended, but the event still went ahead in the upstairs youth space at Gerard Street Hall with a good number of Castle Hill young people and their friends enjoying the event. We played table-top games, alongside table tennis, pool and air hockey and enjoyed good conversation. Food was well received and all were attentive as one of our older teens gave a short talk about the difference Jesus makes to her life. In October, two of our leaders from AYP sought to launch a discipleship group for those in Year 10+. Following initial interest from the six young people, attendance trailed off and it was decided to bring this to a close in December. Whilst disappointing, we learnt that we started the group too late in the term and those who wanted this kind of thing had already gone to groups at other churches with their friends. Part of this Manifesto process is to plan, try and learn for next time. So we hope to try again sometime in the summer term 2025. Around the same time the TMG organised a **‘Golden Ticket’** reunion event for children from Coten End Primary School who had just transitioned to secondary school. To this end we invited the old Year 6 children (now in Year 7 and at different secondary schools) back together for an evening of food, games and some reflective stations — primarily to help them with their transition between schools but also so we might maintain a relationship with them. This built on CHBC’s connection with these children through Crossteach and Kevin’s involvement with the school. Around 25 young people came along for fun, games, food and reflective activities about their move to secondary school. As always, we were blessed by people serving in a number of roles to make this possible. Wider church members supported the event by assisting on the night, preparing food, decorating the hall, making activity props and providing prayer support. We had positive feedback from parents and children alike. One of the hopes we had was to connect with 50 new young people in the year. Through these and other events, we give thanks to God for exceeding our expectations! We would love new members to join & help us and add diversity to the group. ## **House Groups** This year we added a new daytime house group to those already running, bringing our total to nine. Due to their size or for practical reasons, three of these now use the church building for their meetings. Each continues to meet with the intention of sharing and growing in friendship, studying the Bible and considering how this applies to our daily lives, and praying for one another. Leaders of House Groups normally choose their own material in discussion with those who attend. It is always good to hear how they evoke conversation and challenge us in our walk with the Lord. We are so thankful to God for those who take on these important roles in the life of our fellowship, facilitating discussion and pastoral support, as we seek to root ourselves in Christ and grow up in Him. **8** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## **Reports relating to COMMUNITY** ## **Connect Groups** Connect groups are those ministries which seek to build relationships and share God’s love in a variety of practical ways. Whilst they contain little to no explicit Christian content, all those who lead them are practising Christians who are willing to share their faith, as the opportunities arise. ## **CAMEO** Come And Meet Each Other is a long-running ministry to folks within our church and many for whom this is their only contact with CHBC, or indeed any church. It is a mixture of social and education events, built around hospitality and friendship. We open our doors on the third Tuesday of each month, from 1.30 to 3.00pm approximately. Each month is different, with invited speakers, films, crafts and activities. We regularly drew 20-30 in attendance. Through the generosity of our guests, we are able to cover the cost of any visiting speakers, and support several charities (alongside the donations made to the Penny Jar in the foyer). This year, these included The Cake Lady, who makes cakes for wounded soldiers; and Kevin (our pastor) who came to tell us about the Falcon Children’s Holidays that he and Joy have been running. Each year we have a Christmas Party and a summer trip to somewhere special. In 2024 we visited Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire with lunch at a Garden Centre in Lichfield. During the school summer holiday we ran Holiday at Home, a full day of games and activities with a lunchtime meal. This is an opportunity for CHBC folk to share relaxed enjoyable time together, and to invite friends and neighbours to an informal regular activity where we look out for each other, take pleasure in each other’s company, and learn a lot along the way! You are warmly invited to join us. ## **Craft club** This group has continued to meet twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month. We are a small gathering of those in and out of the church but everyone enjoys being together. It has been encouraging to see the ladies developing new skills. An important part of our meeting is when we pause for our ‘thought for the day’ as we keep Jesus at the centre. We would love to have more people join us, everyone is welcome. ## **G2G - Gateway to Gaming** We met on the last Saturday of each month until April, when we unfortunately had to stop meeting due to falling numbers of young people attending and the pressure of exams starting. The young people enjoyed being able to play a wide variety of games, including new board and tabletop games, alongside cakes and drinks. After the Summer break we didn’t get restarted for a variety of reasons. We are currently exploring other options to encourage these young people to have a social space to gather. ## **Home from Home** Open every Monday in the church lounge, Home From Home (HfH) offers a warm safe place for anyone of any age to come and meet, to complete a jigsaw, knit, read a book, play a game or just chat together. We offer warm and cold snacks and drinks. We have a core group of 6-8 people who generally come weekly (some of whom don’t attend on a Sunday morning), but on occasions this group is joined by others from within the fellowship and visitors to Warwick town. **9** _Annual Reports 2024_ The group has developed a relationship with a local Social Prescriber who is positive about this space and there is a group who enjoy a game of Scrabble most weeks. Conversations are shaped by those who come, covering everything from teaching someone how to use their new mobile phone, discussing the history of Warwick, supporting someone looking for insurance quotes, listening as people share the challenges they’re facing, to just general chatter about what’s good (or not) on TV! This continues to be a valuable space for those seeking company, gentle activity, food and a listening ear. ## **Meet ‘n’ Eat** This group was originally set up some 9 or 10 years ago to reach out to local people who were living alone. The idea was to offer a hearty meal and to give the opportunity to socialise and make new friendships. We were running the group on a weekly basis but after Easter last year found it necessary to reduce it to every other week. The lunches are very well supported but during 2023/24 several of our regulars sadly died. Since then numbers have grown again and we now average between 20-25, plus a dedicated team of 5 volunteers. There is probably a 60% majority of non-Church members who attend, and encouragingly several of those now attend other Connect groups too. There is no age requirement but most are retired. It is seen as a great privilege to be part of this Connect group. We have seen friendships grow within the group, and seen new people join us, usually through word of mouth. A conversation has taken place with one of the nurses at the local health centre about what we do. He said he had some patients who may benefit from coming…but it transpired that they were already coming! ## **Baby Basics** Baby Basics Warwick is a CHBC project partnering with Baby Basics UK. It is a volunteer-led project that supports new mothers by providing FREE Moses Basket Starter Packs and other essential items to mums/families who are struggling to meet the financial and practical burden of looking after a new baby. 2024 has been another busy year both in terms of referrals and receiving donations. A total of 116 Moses baskets/Bath Starter Packs were given out which is a 50% increase on 2023, this is alongside other items such as clothing packs, slings, feeding bottles, sterilisers, play gyms and bouncy chairs. The number of referrals has continued to increase, thought to be due to the Cost-of-Living crisis, together with Baby Basics Warwick becoming more known to the referrers by word of mouth and our social media presence. God has been amazing in enabling us to meet the needs of some of the neediest in our local community. ## Donations We continued to be blessed by the number and quality of donations from both the CHBC family and our local community. Gateway/Church donation days have continued to be very successful and it’s a great opportunity to be in a church space and take time to listen to the donors’ stories. We continue to receive support from Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and companies such as Lillets and Usborne books. Recently we were involved in the Lorraine Kelly Baby Bank campaign with Morrisons, collecting a full shopping trolley of hygiene items and nappies. This year we have been blessed by successful grant applications amounting to £21,273, an increase of 33% over 2023. These have been awarded by a variety of sources including WDC, WCC, Baby Bank Alliance and the Souter Trust. In addition to these grants, we have also received one off gifts of £5,975 **10** _Annual Reports 2024_ from local businesses, Societies and St Nicholas Church Kenilworth’s Christmas Tree Festival. We give thanks to God for this as this money makes a substantial difference to delivering the project primarily in the sourcing and processing of consumables and goods (see accounts below). ## Stories of encouragement God has been good to the project by providing what we’ve needed just when we have needed it! And when the team has been stretched outside of the project, he has wonderfully lightened the load. This year we started to support the WCC Baby Box Care leavers project working with the agency to provide Starter Packs for all Warwickshire Care leavers and their newborn baby. ## Progress to date As per the last few years, we have continued to steadily increase our provision in both volume and the number of agencies that now refer to us. These include many health professionals such as Community and Maternity Ward Midwife teams, Social Workers, Health Visitors, Family Nurse Practitioners, Associated Health Professionals at WCC Care Leavers, Early Help and Peri Mental Health Teams, together with referrals from other Churches and Charities. We give thanks for our core team of volunteers who continue to meet twice a week to process requests, spend many hours sorting donations, preparing the requested items, and giving of their time to enable this project. In addition, we also have support with our social media, communications and administration. We are also thankful for the use of CHBC facilities — the Attic space as working space, the old crèche room providing step free access for dispatch, and for the provision of the Gerrard Street office for overflow storage. The car park is also a big plus for our volunteers. ## Future initiatives This year we look forward to putting the project on a more sustainable footing, making the project more resilient as it continues to be needed and grows. ## **Gateway Café** After many years of serving our local community, alas it was time to finish with this project. We served our last customers on 24th February 2024. The cafe was closed in March to enable the manager to go travelling as he retired from work. On his return it was necessary to focus on care for his family due to deteriorating health issues with a member of the family. During this time, the church has been looking for an alternative manager to run the cafe but that was not meant to be and the difficult decision was then made to close this mission permanently. Happily the facilities continue to be kept serviceable and are still used by other groups within the Church like Meet ‘n’ Eat (see below) for Friday lunches providing meals for local senior residents. We also use the facilities for events like the Advent Supper, Covenant Lunch and occasional house group lunches. Having formally closed, we still managed to open the cafe for the annual Smith Street Party on the last Saturday of July. We were pleased to join in the fanfare for the day with all our neighbouring shops and celebrate the summer holidays. We showcased the community projects that we are involved in and served teas, coffees and cakes. It was great to catch up with all our regulars amidst live music and a street dancing crowd outside. The church would like to thank those who have served on the last Gateway Committee and to all those who served before us in Gateway providing this precious community cafe. And although Gateway is no more, the spirit of community thrives in our God and we pray that it will not be too long before these facilities will be opened again, perhaps for a different use but always to reach out into our local communities. **11** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## **“Green and Fair” Team** The “Green and Fair” team exists to encourage and inspire the family of Castle Hill Baptist Church to engage in thought, prayer and action as regards Creation Care, Climate stewardship, Fair Trade and justice, both within the church and in the wider community. The team consists of seven members. One team member stepped back this year owing to difficulties with meeting via Zoom. Our highlight in December 2023 was the receipt of the “Eco-Congregation Bronze Award” from the awarding body ‘A Rocha’. This was the result of hard work by some team members, to ensure that we qualified in seven specified areas. This year we have been looking to see how we can improve on this. As well as leading prayers on green topics at varied times during the year, we have led a Family Service entitled “God and Bees” and celebrated the “Great Big Green Week” producing a sheet for various individual and family activities. We marked Fairtrade Fortnight by writing over 60 letters to all local supermarkets, but sadly with only two responses, which were both generic and unhelpful. We led the first part of a morning service with drama, youth involvement and video. We have also provided a “Green tip” in the church notices most weeks. In addition, our team members have supported a number of sustainable and environmental displays, meetings and exhibitions in the area. During the year we have been attempting to improve the church’s recycling, and to help the church purchase more environmentally friendly cleaning products. We have re-twinned our church toilets through Tearfund, offered alternative gift catalogue ideas at Christmas, provided young trees for people who could put a new one in their garden and put up several very challenging window displays. We are always open to new suggestions as to how we can encourage Creation Care to be a part of our Christian discipleship, and we would welcome any new people who would be willing to get involved and join our team which meets by Zoom four or five times a year. ## **Taste the Nations** In February we held a food festival ‘Taste the Nations’ to celebrate the international diversity within our church family and our enjoyment of food! It was exciting to see our building buzzing with conversations as visitors and regulars sampled the various cuisines. 14 different countries were present with 6 of the 7 continents represented. The food was tasty and savoured by so many. The ‘Bake Off’ competition ran alongside this event with tray bakes made by the children and large cakes by the adults. A cheese and wine anagram quiz, and a map and flag activity for children, allowed everyone to be included. This event was a great encouragement to our international friends and a brilliant way to grow our fellowship and welcome others from our neighbourhood into the building. ## **The Big Help Out** “To be a beacon of hope in Warwick and beyond” is CHBC’s mission statement, and with this in mind, it was decided to include a neighbourhood litter pick as part of our Big Help Out in May. About 20 friends and regulars of CHBC gathered for this day. Two groups of volunteers set out armed with protective gloves, litter pickers and rubbish bags designated to collect different types of rubbish, helping to clean up the canal towpath, river bank and local park. Those who did not want to venture so far helped with gardening jobs at our Gerrard Street hall. Efforts were rewarded by the sight of weeds removed, bags of rubbish collected and a delicious barbecue meal shared by all. Food and fun, along with the knowledge that we had made a difference to our local neighbourhood, and moved a step further towards that silver Eco Church Award, encouraged us all. **12** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## **Reports relating to MISSION** Alongside those mission reports below, the church has missional partnerships with the local Christians Against Poverty (CAP) centre, a local Christian charity called New Hope Christian Counselling, and Thrive Youth Ministry. We also raised money for Christian Aid by hosting a Big Brekkie in our Gateway Café and continue to support the work of Warwick District Foodbank. As our membership continues to change, we recognise the need to regularly review those we support—practically, prayerfully and financially, to ensure the whole church is aware and able to get involved in supporting these missional partnerships. ## **Amen Trust Shoeboxes** Thank you to everyone who contributed to our collection of shoeboxes for 2024. We were able to send around 60 boxes. The boxes arrived safely in Romania before Christmas and were very well received by families living in the Roma communities in great need. We hope to take part again next year, enabling people who would otherwise not receive any gifts at Christmas to experience God's love in a box. ## **BMS World Mission** The Church’s involvement with BMS World Mission has continued with financial giving and prayer for their on-going work. Sharing in prayer has been a privilege and CHBC has been able to support the work of BMS World Mission through the regular prayers of individuals, as well as corporate gathered prayer on Thursdays, in house groups and on the BMS Day of Prayer held in February. In the morning All Age worship service in February we learned about the worldwide church through an interactive quiz and engaged in prayer for mission work taking place in Cambodia, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories, Mauritania, Lebanon, Nepal and Uganda. With issues ranging from gender justice to creation stewardship as well as the need to bring hope to those whose lives are so vulnerable as refugees, it was important for us to be able to share in this ministry through prayer. Giving to BMS has once again been strong this year, through the annual budget where we contribute 5% of our annual income. We have a generous God and we rejoice that we can share with those in need far from Warwick. ## **BMS Birthday Scheme** In our all age service in February we relaunched this scheme as our congregation has changed quite a bit since the last time we promoted it. Thanks to all who have given to the medical work of BMS World Mission through the Birthday Scheme. The gifts that are given in celebration of birthdays really do make a difference. ## **Penny Jar** An “Old Sweet Jar” has occupied the table in the foyer for the last twenty years and each year the donations given support a chosen charity. In 2024 the amount donated was over £220. The church members decide which charity we should donate to each year. **13** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## **Schools’ work** Alongside our partnership with Crossteach (see below), Kevin has continued to visit Coten End Primary School to support the education of children in their understanding of the christian faith. He has led a harvest assembly and the making of Christingles to talk about Christmas. He has also visited year 6 to talk about the role prayer plays in helping Christians ‘live well’. It is always a privilege to be able to support our local school and talk with the staff whilst visiting, offering simple pastoral support as is appropriate. ## **CrossTeach** We continue to partner with Crossteach, an educational charity teaching about the Christian faith in schools, to host termly interactive ‘Experiences’ for year 6 from Coten End Primary within our buildings, using our own volunteers, to explore some significant Christian festivals. This year, we examined the Easter story through the mystery: ‘Who killed this man?’ In June, we helped pupils think about how Christians are helped by God when facing times of change; this is pertinent as they prepare to transition to secondary school. At Christmas we welcomed the new Year 6s to explore the Christmas story, The feedback from the school is always positive, with children particularly highlighting how they enjoyed arguing with the Judge at Easter, entering Herod’s palace at Christmas and joining in the chat show approach to exploring Joseph's perspective on Mary’s pregnancy! A recent refresh of the materials by Crossteach also added to an improved experience. Financially, we donate to Crossteach every time we partner with them in recognition of the time and resources they provide so freely. Many thanks to all those who served on team to enable all these Experiences to happen. ## **Remembrance Sunday** On Sunday 10th November, at 9.30 am, around 120 members and leaders of 7th Warwick Scout Group (Beavers, Cubs and Scouts) attended Castle Hill Baptist Church for their second Remembrance Day Service. That was a 100% turnout! It was great to see so many young people in the church, from 6 year olds to adult leaders. The flag bearers were very proud to walk up to the platform to present their flags. Thanks to Kevin who conducted a very good interactive service, and encouraged many of the youngsters to take part on the platform. It was particularly appreciated, as he arranged for this to be wrapped up in time for normal worship at 10.30am. We were very impressed when we asked the Beavers the next evening about it, and one of them told us word-for-word the story of Irene Sendler that Kevin had shared. Refreshments were served to all children and leaders at Gerrard Street Hall afterwards. This set them up nicely before walking up into town to take part in the Town Parade, passing the War Memorial in Church Street. We hope to repeat this event each year, with all the positives it brings. ## **Window Display** These displays are placed in the big window over the front door of the main entrance to the church. This window overlooks one of the main thoroughfares into Warwick. A large number of people drive by each day or walk past on the footpaths, therefore the window is in a prime position to display a strong **14** _Annual Reports 2024_ meaningful Christian message to encourage people in their daily lives and to remind them of God’s love and care for them each day. This year there have been nine displays: God is with us all through the year, Easter, Praying for World Peace, God’s Amazing World (Green and Fair Group), Jesus Light of the World (Light Party), Christmas, God Is Always With Us (New Year), Love your Planet (Valentines Day) and Peace and Justice. This project is very eco-friendly. The congregation have been involved by contributing flattened cereal boxes which make excellent bases for painting items. All displays contain recycled materials. Contributors to the artwork have provided their own materials. Many people enjoyed the painting workshop last year and another is planned in the near future. It has been encouraging to hear news of people who have stopped and commented on the lovely artwork and the encouraging messages displayed. Thank you to the large number of people who have provided artwork and also to those who have helped with the practical preparation and arrangements of the displays over this last year. We look forward to another year of providing vibrant displays to tell passers-by of God’s care for them and to demonstrate that CHBC is a beacon of hope to Warwick and beyond. ## **Community Outreach Events** ## **Light Party** Castle Hill Baptist Church holds an annual Light Party to provide families from the congregation and wider community with an alternative to Hallowe’en. This is aimed at families with primary aged and younger children, although older children are welcome. On 31st October 2024 we welcomed 31 adults and 42 children to the Church Hall and had great fun doing crafts, pass the parcel, hearing about “Jesus—Light of the World” and enjoying some yummy food. Of the 25 families who attended, 15 were from outside of our congregation – some belonging to other churches and others without a church background. Many return year after year. The event was advertised through our events mailing list, local primary school newsletters, the church website, Facebook page and word of mouth. Carolyn even created a fabulous “Jesus—Light of the World” display in the window to coincide with the party and we are very grateful to her for all her hard work. At the end, every family left with a party bag, tract and information about the upcoming Tearfund Quiz and our Christmas events. We received many positive comments about how welcome guests felt. A big thank you to the 29 adults and 7 young people who were involved before, during or after the event, demonstrating God’s love and witnessing to the community around us, and to all those who prayed for the party. ## **Stir Up Sunday** Our community Christmas pudding making was once again possible this year due to the fantastic team of volunteers who assisted with the many aspects of the event. Preparing craft materials, welcoming visitors, serving refreshments, providing wonderful seasonal music and helping serve ingredients to make the puddings and complete craft projects—all made this festive occasion run smoothly and bring joy to those involved. It was also wonderful to have helpers who are not part of the CHBC family assisting with crafts and the pudding making and they all agreed that the act of serving was great fun. **15** _Annual Reports 2024_ Visitors who joined us, some for the first time, others who are now regulars, all comment on the friendly welcoming atmosphere and how this now marks the start of the Christmas celebrations for their families. 68 puddings were made along with Christmas tree decorations, bird feeders and decorated biscuits. Additionally, we were able to support a church in Stratford-upon-Avon who chose to do this for the first time by sharing our knowledge and experience. As part of this event, we were pleased to be able to raise significant funds for our Advent Appeal supporting Compassion UK and Leamington Street Pastors. ## **TEAR Fund Quiz** In November we joined with 575 other churches across the UK who hosted The Big Quiz Night. We welcomed just over 60 quizzers (14 who were not part of CHBC family) to a fun evening and we were able to contribute £441.52 to an overall national total of £195,000. FANTASTIC! We are hugely grateful to those who came along, donated the pizzas, made cakes for the silent auction and those who bought them! Also, the event could only ever happen due to the help of volunteers who prepared food, served as quiz master, scorer, gave tech and media support as well as setting up and setting down. The enjoyment of the evening was a real highlight and it’s a privilege to be able to invite friends and family to such events. Until next time! **16** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## **Treasurer’s Report & End of Year Accounts** In 2024 our total receipts were £169,221 (2023: £164,041) and our payments £145,948 (2023: £138,895) resulting in our overall funds increasing by £23,303 before gains on fixed assets and changes to the pension fund liability. These figures include receipts and payments for Baby Basics and Gateway. The main reasons for the increase in income were a increase in regular donations and an associated increase in tax refunds under Gift Aid, and higher grants received in 2024, particularly for Baby Basics. Increased expenditure was mainly due to premises running costs and ministry. General Fund receipts were £129,949 (2023: £119,545) and payments were £116,006 (2023: £108,034) before transfers. In addition, there were net transfers out of the General Fund of -£6,022 (2023: -£7,805) with £5,000 of the surplus for the year being transferred to the Building Reserve reflecting underspend on maintenance and expected expenditure on the buildings needed in the future. We can give thanks to the Lord for His financial provision over the year. 2024 has seen an increase in giving reflecting growth in the congregation which has helped meet increased costs resulting from new electric and gas contracts and an increase in usage as our buildings see increased use. There was a net surplus of £7,922 on the General Fund. With the Defined Benefit Pension Fund now in surplus and having moved to buy-out the small remaining liability of £30 has been written back into the accounts for the year. Designated Funds (excluding the Manse fixed asset) fell by £4,088 before the transfer of £16,000 from both the General Fund and Gateway into the Building Reserve. The fall in overall designated funds was due to manse repairs funded from the Building Reserve. Receipts and payments from Gateway fell due to both the Friday lunches and Saturday café saw lower volumes following the Friday lunches moving from weekly to roughly every other week and Gateway having to close. Restricted Funds (excluding the church buildings fixed assets) increased by £13,415 due to grants received for both Baby Basics. Baby Basics had a surplus for the year of £16,030 reflecting grants received which are available for spending into 2025. Receipts of £8,341 (2023: £8,272) were given through the Appeals Fund which was all for Wider Mission work. The total giving (grants) to external mission organisations was £30,109 comprising: ## **Local Mission** |**Local Mission**|||| |---|---|---|---| |CAP|Local Centre Partnership|General Fund|£5,500| |Churches Together in Warwick|Annual subscription|General Fund|£85| |Flourish|Advent Appeal 2023|Appeal Fund|£950| |Leamington Spa Street Pastors|Advent Appeal 2024|Appeal Fund|£1,000| |New Hope|General Support|General Fund|£660| |The Air Ambulance|Cameo|General Fund|£100| |Thrive|General Support|General Fund|£1,200| |Warwick Food Bank|General Support|General Fund|£550| **17** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## ## ## REPORT OF TRUSTEES ## **Reference and Administrative Information** Registered Charity Number Registered Charity Office 1129504 Castle Hill Baptist Church, Castle Hill, Warwick, CV34 4EX **Names of Trustees** Minister Rev K Johnson Church Secretary Mr DTW Ho (from January 2025) Treasurer Mr J D Levick Deacons Mr C Appleby (from 1 January 2025) Mrs K Austin Mrs K Hewitt Mr D T W Ho (until 31 December 2024) Mr R Molloy Mrs A Olteanu (from 1 January 2025) Mrs S Poole Mrs E Randall Ms R Riordan (from 1 January 2025) Mr C Williams Legal Adviser Shakespeare Martineau, 1 Colmore Square, Birmingham, B4 6AA Independent Examiner Blessing Simango FCCA, 12 Field Close, Warwick, CV34 4QD Bankers HSBC, The Parade, Leamington Spa Barclays Bank PLC, The Parade, Leamington Spa Custodian Trustees Heart of England Baptist Association 480 Chester Road Sutton Coldfield West Midlands B73 5BP **19** _Annual Reports 2024_ 4 ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** ## **Section A** **Independent Examiner’s Report** ## **Report to the trustees/** **members of**[Castle Hill Baptist Church ] **On accounts for the year** 31 December 2024 **Charity no** 1129504 **ended (if any)** **Set out on pages** (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended **31 / 12 / 2024** . - **Responsibilities and** As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation **basis of report** of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. **Independent** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have **examiner's statement** come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or - the accounts do not accord with the accounting records I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. - _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._ > **Signed:** KB Simango **Date:** 31/10/2025 **Name:** Blessing Simango (FCCA) **Relevant professional** Association of Chartered Accountants **qualification(s) or body (if any):** **Address:** 25 Myton Crofts Leamington Spa CV31 3NZ **October 2018** 1 **IER** ## **Section B Disclosure** Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). **Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** . N/A **October 2018** 2 **IER** ## **Castle Hill Baptist Church** ## **Analysis of receipts and payments Selected period:** ## **01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024** ## **Receipts and Payments Account** ||**Note**|**General**
**Funds**|**Designated**
**Funds**|**Restricted**
**Funds**|**Total**
**Funds**|**Prior Year**
**Funds**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**Receipts**||||||| |Donations and Legacies|**2**|109,920|1,060|28,688|139,668|105,569| |Income from Charitable Activities|**3**|0|0|3,745|3,745|277| |Other TradingActivities|**4**|5,670|5,370|0|11,040|18,223| |Investments|**5**|13,867|216||14,083|19,711| |Other income|**6**|493|(64)|256|685|20,362| |**Total Receipts**||**129,950**|**6,582**|**32,689**|**169,221**|**164,042**| |**Payments**||||||| |RaisingFunds|**7**|5.166|2,808|0|7,974|9,294| |Charitable Activities|**8 to**
**15**|110,870|7,861|19,273|138,005|129,601| |**Total Payments**||**116,036**|**10,669**|**19,273**|**145,979**|**138,895**| |**Surplus for theyear**||**13,974**|**(4,087)**|**13,416**|**23,303**|**25,147**| |**Transfers**||||||| |Gross Transfers between funds - in|**16**|0|16,000|22|16,022|12,194| |Gross transfers between funds - out|**16**|(6,022)|(10,000)|0|(16,022)|(12,194)| |**Net Transfers**||**(6,022)**|**6,000**|**22**|**0**|**0**| |**Net Movements in funds after**
**transfers**||**7,952**|**1,913**|**13,438**|**23,303**|**25,147**| |**Total Funds brought forward**||**34,580**|**380,440**|**3,454,360**|**3,869,380**|**3,473,986**| |Surplus/(loss)on fixed assets||0|9,050|86,001|95,051|370,238| |Change in Pension Fund liability||(30)|0|0|(30)|12| |**Total Funds carried forward**||**42,502**|**391,403**|**3,553,799**|**3,987,704**|**3,869,383**| |||||||| |**Represented by**||||||| |**Unrestricted**||||||| |General fund|**20**|42,502|||42,499|34,580| |**Designated**||||||| |Buildings Renewal Fund|**20**||33,158||33,158|25,264| |Fixed Assets - Manse|**20**||344,200||344,200|335,150| |Gateway Cafe Trading Fund|**20 &**
**22**||11,767||11,767|18,303| |Legacy Funds|**20**||2,278||2,278|1,723| |**Restricted**||||||| |Agency collection|**21**|||0|0|85| |Appeals Fund|**21**|||1,972|1,972|3,822| |Baby Basics|**21 &**
**23**|||22,288|22,288|6,258| |Community Activity|**21**|||1,784|1,784|2,442| |Fixed Assets - Buildings|**21**|||3,527,791|3,527,791|3,441,753| **22** _Annual Reports 2024_ |Current Asse章s
Cash & Bank
Debto「|| |---|---| |Totai Cument a8se章s|| |LiabiIities
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Total Liabiiities|| |Net Cur鴫nt A8setS|| |Fixed Asse缶|| |Tangibie Fixed Asscts|3,872 , 1 44 3,777.093| |Total Net Asse健|3.987,703 3,869,383| |Rese巾Ie8|| |撥欝‡時
TotaI Resel`Ies|23,303 25, 1 47
3,869 ,380 3,473,986
95樹 37。諸
3,987.703 3,869.383| |藷器譜d byfunds|42. 502 34. 584| |議潟諾d
T〇日I Funds|39 1 ,403 380,440
3,553,798 3,4叫359
3,9寄7,703 3,869.3e3| ## **Castle Hill Baptist Church** ## **Analysis of receipts and payments Selected period: 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024** ## **Notes to the Accounts** **1. Accounting Policies** > a) These accounts have been prepared on a ‘receipts and payments’ basis and in accordance with Section 133 Charities Act 2011. b) The Church and Hall at Gerrard Street and the Manse at Norton Drive are shown at the latest insurance value. c) Funds. Income received for specific purposes is considered to be restricted and may only be applied to those purposes. Income which may be applied to any of the charity's objectives is treated as unrestricted. The Noah's Ark Christian Pre-School funds are treated as restricted as virtually all the income is purely to cover the activities of the pre- school and cannot be used for other purposes. Similarly Baby Basics is treated as restricted as most donations are given specifically for that work. d) Tax recovered reflects funds claimed under the Gift Aid scheme. This includes tax reclaimed under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) for cash gifts under £20 per individual. > e) The pension liability reflects the deficit contributions payable until June 2026 in accordance with the Pension Fund valuation of 2019. The current rate is £1 per month. ## **RECEIPTS** |**2.**
**Donations & Legacies**
Regular Giving
One Off gifts & legacies
Tax Recovered
Grants
**Total**
**3.**
**Income from**
**Charitable Activities**
Fundraising
Fellowship Meals
Total
**4. Other trading activities**
Gateway
Hire of Premises
**Total**
**5. Investments**
Interest & Dividends
Rents from property
**Total**|**Unrestricted**|**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Total 2024**|**2023**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| ||65,944
26,140
17,836
0|0
1,859
67,803
80,514
1,060
3,609
30,809
10,591
0
552
18,388
14,964
0
22,668
22,668
19,147|||| ||**109,920**|**1,060**|**28,688**|**139,668**|**125,216**| ||||||| ||**Unrestricted**|**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Total 2024**|**2023**| ||0
0|0
3,713
3,713
277
0
32
32
0|||| ||**0**|**0**|**3,745**|**3,745**|**277**| ||||||| ||**Unrestricted**|**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Total 2024**|**2023**| ||0|5,370
0
5,370|||14,092| ||5,670|0
0
5,670|||4,131| ||**5,670**|**5,370**|**0**|**11,040**|**18,223**| ||||||| ||**Unrestricted**|**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Total 2024**|**2023**| ||1,766
12,100|216
0
1,982
0
0
12,100|||1,711
17,900| ||**13,866**|**216**|**0**|**14,082**|**19,711**| **24** _Annual Reports 2024_ |**6.**
**Other income**
Stripe Commission
Miscellaneous Income
Gateway travel
Income to offset costs
**Total**|**Unrestricted**
72
421
0
0
**493**|**Designated**|**Restricted**|**Total 2024**|**2023**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |||0
0
(64)
0|206
0
0
50|278
421
(64)
50|182
350
253
430| |||**(64)**|**256**|**685**|**1,215**| ||||||| |**INCOME TOTAL**|**129,949**|**6,582**|**32,689**|**169,220**|**164,042**| ## **PAYMENTS** **7. Raising funds - Fund Raising costs** |Flat Management Fees
Flat maintenance
Gateway consumables
Gateway Staff
Gateway travel
Total
**Expenditure on charitable activities**
**Ministry**
Stipend & Associated costs
Pension Deficit Contribution
Other Ministry Costs
Music
Manse Costs
**Own Mission**
Benevolent Grants
Children & Young People
Other Activities
**. Wider Mission**
Churches Together in Warwick
New Hope
Christians Against Poverty
Thrive
Warwick Foodbank
Various Mission Local
Home Mission Fund
Various Mission National
BMS World Mission
Christian Aid
Tear Fund
Various Mission Worldwide
Total
Total
Total
1,167
0
0
1,167
1,044
4,999
0
0
4,999
250
0
2,218
0
2,218
6,099
0
590
0
580
1,803
0
0
0
0
98
5,166
2,808
0
7,974
9,294
38,493
0
0
38,493
35,643
10
0
0
10
12
3,117
0
0
3,117
3,637
0
0
0
10
16
3,768
0
0
3,768
3,235
45,388
0
0
45,388
42,544
197
0
0
197
103
1,054
0
0
912
912
435
0
0
221
221
1,686
0
0
1,686
1,237
85
0
0
85
85
660
0
0
660
660
5,500
0
0
5,500
5,499
1,200
0
870
2,070
1,200
550
0
0
550
0
0
0
2,050
2.050
1,092
5,919
0
0
5,919
5,600
2,000
0
1,000
3,000
3,000
5,919
0
950
6,869
5,600
0
0
274
274
2,830
0
0
797
797
439
58
0
2,727
2,785
2,408
21,891
0
8,218
30,109
28,413|1,167
0
0
1,167
4,999
0
0
4,999
0
2,218
0
2,218
0
590
0
580
0
0
0
0|1,044
250
6,099
1,803
98| |---|---|---| ||5,166
2,808
0
7,974|9,294| ||38,493
0
0
38,493
35,643
10
0
0
10
12
3,117
0
0
3,117
3,637
0
0
0
10
16
3,768
0
0
3,768
3,235|| ||45,388
0
0
45,388
42,544|| |||| ||197
0
0
197
103
1,054
0
0
912
912
435
0
0
221
221|| ||1,686
0
0
1,686
1,237|| |||| ||85
0
0
85
85
660
0
0
660
660
5,500
0
0
5,500
5,499
1,200
0
870
2,070
1,200
550
0
0
550
0
0
0
2,050
2.050
1,092
5,919
0
0
5,919
5,600
2,000
0
1,000
3,000
3,000
5,919
0
950
6,869
5,600
0
0
274
274
2,830
0
0
797
797
439
58
0
2,727
2,785
2,408|| ||21,891
0
8,218
30,109
28,413|| ## **- Expenditure on charitable activities** ## **8. Ministry** ## **9. Own Mission** ## **10. Wider Mission** **25** _Annual Reports 2024_ |**11. Support**
**Costs**
Safeguarding
Subscriptions
Hospitality, Refreshments & Trips
Supplies
Miscellaneous
Insurance - Church
Equipment
Payment Fees
Total
**12. Governance**
Legal Fees
Professional Fees
Independent Examination Fee
Total
**13. Maintenance & Repairs**
Church Maintenance
Hall Maintenance
Manse Maintenance
Gateway & Smith St Maintenance
Total
**14. Premises Running Costs**
Computing & Sound
Electricity & Gas - Church
Electricity & Gas - Hall
Water
Fire & Security
Heating Service
Cleaning
Healthcare & Waste
Council Tax - The Gateway
**15. Administration**
Printing and Stationary
Telephone Internet & Postage
Secretarial
Bookkeeping
**Total Charitable Activities**
Total
Total
**16. Transfers**
transfers between funds - in
transfers between funds - out
**Transfers**|| |---|---| ||15
0
0
15
540
1,393
0
370
1,763
1,446
529
0
529
1,058
1,230
208
0
9187
9.395
11,768
0
0
89
89
0
3,101
0
0
3,101
3,028
462
0
439
901
753
290
42
83
415
407
5,999
42
10,785
16,827
19,173| ||| ||60
0
0
60
600
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
200| ||60
0
0
60
800| ||| ||360
0
0
360
1,662
517
0
0
517
3,234
2,783
7,106
0
9,889
3,320
30
0
0
30
1,416| ||3,690
7,106
0
10,796
9,632| ||| ||1,189
505
10
1,704
634
7,796
0
0
7.796
6,531
2,849
0
0
2,849
2,091
1,313
0
0
1,313
1,344
2,219
0
0
2,219
277
405
0
0
405
867
2,094
0
0
2,094
2,959
2,503
0
0
2,503
2,873
0
208
0
208
215| ||20,368
713
10
21,091
17,791| ||| ||601
0
96
697
824
5,678
0
0
5,678
4,237
5,411
0
0
5,411
4,648
98
0
43
141
302| ||11,788
0
139
11,927
10,011| ||| ||116,036
10,670
19,273
145,979
139,883| ||| ||0
(6,022)
16,000
(10,000)
22
0
16,022
(16,022)
12,194
(12,194)
**(6,022)**
**6,000**
**22**
**0**
**0**| **26** _Annual Reports 2024_ **17, Cash & Bank** **18** |**Cash and bank**
HSBC Current
HSBC Deposit Account
HEBA Deposit Account
HEBA Thomas Hurd Income Account
Barclays Current Baby Basics
Barclays Gateway
Barclays Gateway Reserve
Cash Gateway
Cash
Stripe
SumUp
Total|**2024**
**2023**| |---|---| ||25,093
22,950
57,014
36,282
6,966
6,811
4,112
3,235
21,950
6,089
0
1,781
0
14,370
60
97
0
213
123
410
0
11| ||115,318
92,294| ## **Current assets and liabilities** |**rrent assets and liabilities**|**rrent assets and liabilities**|| |---|---|---| |**Current assets - Debtors**
Deposit Protection Scheme re Smith St Flat
**Totals**
**Liabilities – Creditors:**
Pension Liability within 1 year
Pension Liability over 12 months
Heart of England Baptist Assoc Loan
Heart of England Baptist Assoc Loan over 12
months
Other
**Totals**||**2024**
**2023**

| |||576
576
**576**
**576**| |||| |||0
12
0
18
250
300
0
250
85
0
**(335)**
**(580)**| ## **Assets held for Church Use** |**Fixed assets**
Church Building -
Gerrard Street Hall and Flat -
Manse 11 Norton Drive -
**Totals**|**Fixed assets**
Church Building -
Gerrard Street Hall and Flat -
Manse 11 Norton Drive -
**Totals**|**2024**
**2023**| |---|---|---| |||2,213,605
2,159,651
1,314,339
1,282,292
344,200
335,150
**3,872,144**
**3,777,093**| **19** **27** _Annual Reports 2024_ **20 Unrestricted Funds** **Balance Balance 1/1 2024 Receipts Payments Transfers Gains/losses 31 /12/2024** ||**Balance**
**Balance**
**1/1 2024**
**Receipts Payments Transfers Gains/losses 31 /12/2024**|**Balance**
**Balance**
**1/1 2024**
**Receipts Payments Transfers Gains/losses 31 /12/2024**| |---|---|---| |**General - General fund**
Unrestricted
Pension Fund deficit
**Total for General**
**Designated Funds**
**Gateway Cafe**
**Buildings Renewal**
**Legacy Funds**
**Total Designated cash funds**
**Manse**||| ||34,610
129,950
(116,006)
(6,022)
0
(30)
30
0
0
0
**34,580**
**129,980**
**(116,006)**
**(6,022)**
**0**|42,502
0
**42,502**| |||| ||18,303
5,522
(3,058)
(9,000)
0
25,264
0
(7,106)
15,000
0
1,723
1,060
(505)
0
0
**45,290**
**6,582**
**(10,669)**
**6,000**
**0**|11,767
33,158
2,278
**47,203**| ||335,150
0
0
0
9,050|344,200| ## **21 Restricted Funds** |**Appeals Fund**
**Baby Basics**
**Community/Home from Home**
~~**Agency**~~
**Total restricted cash funds**
Church & Hall Properties
**Grand total**|3,823
6,525
(8,376)
0
0
**6,258**
**26,164**
**(10,134)**
**0**
**0**
**2,441**
**0**
**(657)**
**0**
**0**|1,972
**22,288**
**1,784**| |---|---|---| ||**85**
**0**
**(85)**
**0**
**0**
**12,607**
**32,569**
**(19,259)**
**0**
**0**|**0**
**25.914**| ||3,441,753
0
0
0
86,001
3,527,754|| ||**3,869,381**
**169,221**
**(145,948)**
**0**
**95,051**
**3,987,703**|| |||| **Appeals Fund Baby Basics** Funds raised for specific purposes almost entirely for Wider Mission Receipts and Payments relating to Baby Basics providing a service to new mothers in need **Community/Home from Home** Grant funding and related payments for local community action **Agency** Includes legacies with restrictions on the use of funds **28** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## **22. Gateway Cafe** ## **Receipts** |**22.**
**Gateway Cafe**
**Receipts**|| |---|---| |Saturday Takings
Friday Lunches
Gateway Other Takings
_Total trading activities_
Bank Interest
Other income
Miscellaneous Income
Gateway travel
**Total receipts**
**Payments**
_Gateway Consumables_
Food Supplies
Coffee Supplies
Gateway Non-Food Consumables
Gateway travel
Staff Costs
Trips
Equipment
SumUp Fees
Maintenance & Repairs
Council Tax - The Gateway
**Total payments**
Excess of receipts over payments
Brought forward balance
Transfers to/(from)
**Total carried forward balance**|**2024**
**2023**
2,557
9,668
2,773
4,020
40
404
_5,370_
_14,092_
216
129
0
350
(64)
398| ||**5,522**
**14,969**
2,096
86
5,341
373
36
385
0
99| ||_2,218_
_6,198_
591
1,802
0
495
0
138| ||_0_
_633_
42
124
0
450
208
215
**3,059**
**9,422**| ||2,463
5.547
18,303
14,756
(9,000)
(2,000)| ||**11,766**
**18,303**| **29** _Annual Reports 2024_ ## **23 Baby Basics** ## **Receipts** |
**Baby Basics**
**Receipts**||| |---|---|---| |Donations
Gift Aided
Tax recovered
Non Gift Aided
Fundraising
Grants
Stripe Commission
Other income
**\Total receipts**
**Payments**
Subscriptions
Refreshments
Supplies
Computing & Sound
Printing & Copying
Bookkeeping
Stripe Commission
Other costs
**Total payments**
**Excess of receipts over payments**
Brought forward balance
**Total carried forward balance**|**2024**
0
0
270
3,167
22,668
9
50|**2023**
0
16
990
15
15,947
8
0| ||**26,164**
348
439
9,130
9
80
43
9
83
**10,141**|**16,976**
300
0
11,532
10
0
209
0| |||**12,051**| ||**16,023**
6,258|**4,925**
1,333| ||**22,281**|**6,258**| **30** _Annual Reports 2024_